Estate Planning

Estate planning that focuses simply on Florida estate tax planning may miss one-half of a family’s needs. The other half is asset protection — protecting your hard earned savings and property. At Rarick & Bowden Gold, P.A., a knowledgeable Miami asset protection attorney can help you plan for both objectives.

Florida families want to protect their wealth, and pass that wealth on to their family members with the least cost and taxes. Any U.S. citizen can see their life savings attacked and destroyed in a single lawsuit.

A good Miami estate planning attorney knows how to integrate estate planning with asset protection so that exposed assets, what creditors call “low hanging fruit”, are protected. Such exposed assets could be rental property that you own. This is attractive “fruit” to attack because if you own real estate you might as well publish what you own in the Miami-Herald: it can be easily found and a creditor can put a lien on it. Further creditors have a great remedy: foreclosure.

A primary theme of our firm is to keep our clients out of court. Our integrated estate and asset protection planning has three fundamental goals:

• Keep legal control in the family – and avoid a court stepping into your personal financial or family affairs.
• Protect your savings and property from lawsuits.
• Give what you have, the way you want – at the least possible cost – saving as much taxes, court costs and attorney’s fees as possible.

As Miami trust attorneys, our firms offers multiple types of trusts and estate planning instruments that may include:

• Living Revocable Trust
  • Purpose: Your master set of instructions to care for you and your family in event of mental incapacity; this trust acts as a will upon death but avoid probate if properly funded.
• Elder Protection Trust:
  • Purpose: To protect elder citizens from exploitation and scams
• Children’s Safe Harbor Trust
  • Purpose: To make sure every dime goes to your children – not to their creditors and not to a spouse when they marry.
• Special Needs Trusts for persons with disabilities
  • Purpose: Ensure that persons with special needs are not disqualified from receiving state or local benefits upon receipt of an inheritance.
• Medicaid Planning Trusts
  • Purpose: For persons who need long term care but lack insurance or other needs to pay for it.
• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILIT)
  • Purpose: Protect life insurance from estate taxes.
• Charitable Trust
• Dynasty Trust
  • Purpose: Pass wealth to future generations and minimizing estate and generation skipping taxes.
• Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT)
  • Purpose: Often a good asset protection option for married couples
• Spendthrift Trust
  • Purpose: Protect minor and adult children from their creditors.

Miami estate planning firm, Rarick & Bowden Gold, P.A., has assisted families and business owners for over 25 years. Our firm is routinely trusted and engaged by attorneys outside the of Florida to represent their clients in legal matters concerning probate, Florida estate planning, and asset protection. To schedule a meeting with a Miami estate planning attorney call (305) 556-5209 or (954) 360-8242, or e-mail info@raricklaw.com. We look forward to meeting you!